Opinions on Hovland HP 100

I heard it at the NY HiFi Show. Set up as it was with Hovland HP-100, Accuphase CD player and Audio Physic speaker, it was frighteningly bright. Do not buy the Saphire without listening to it first.

The Hovland is a very good preamp. It is smooth, quite neutral and has a liquid midrange. It has the best highs which I have ever heard from a preamp. I did not find it "wooly". The dynamics which it is capable of are only average to below average. Additionally, it is absolutely lacking in bass power, weight and extension. Despite the fact that it does several things quite well, including the highs, which is where I consider it A-1, I would say that there are others which are better overall. I would look very carefully before buying the Hovland. To the suggestions of top-of-the-line preamps I would add the First Sound Presence Audio Linestage. I would also say that I auditioned the Aesthetix Callisto head-to-head with the Hovland and I liked the Hovland better than it.

Perhaps my audition of about a year ago dates me, but I didn't mean to indicate that the Hovland sounds "thin" on normal program material. It doesn't. But if you want your music produced with all the depth, extension and slam as was in a full-range recording, my experience indicated that the Hovland came up way short. I think if you put the Hovland up against a CAT Ultimate or the First Sound Linestage you will find that they are in a different league on an overall basis. This is despite the beautiful, extended and detailed high frequency presentation you get with the Hovland. If they have improved the bass (and the dynamics), I congratulate them. Perhaps they will have a preamp which now lives up to the hype of this product by Stereophile and Soundstage whose reviews were published BEFORE Hovland made any such improvements. To Calloway, I would say that this preamp is supposed to be or to compete with the best, so its not enough that there are only a few which better it. All I say is find a way to listen carefully, or better, to A/B it with some of the other suggestions in this thread. Despite the low upgrade price, Hovland has raised the retail price at least 20% since its inception and it is no longer cheap for the quality category in which it is intended to compete. I am not one much for reviews or reviewers, but in the Soundstage review of the First Sound, Todd Warnke, who also reviewed the Hovland, compares HIS list of the top preamps, including the Hovland. Check and see what he said:
http://www.firstsoundaudio.com/review.html